Come Home, Niisan
by Evantis
Summary: Can a child who doesn't accept reality make the light come back to his brother's hurt eyes?


Hello, everyone. This is my fifth story! It's mainly about Itachi and Sasuke. Before we start, I need to tell you about the age thingy.

-

**Itachi: 15 years old**

**Sasuke: 5+ years old (he's going to be six in seven months)**

**Kakashi: 27 years old**

**Naruto: 14+ years old (he's going to be fifteen in five months)**

**Sakura: 15 years old**

**Neji: 15 years old**

**The rest of Rookie Nine: 14+ - 15+ (except Sasuke)**

**Gaara: 14+ (he's coming to fifteen in a month)**

**Kankurou: 18 years old**

**Temari: 16 years old**

**The rest of the guys like Gai, Anko, Ibiki and blah are around 26-42 years old.**

**-**

Right, now we've settled the age things. I'm sorry Sasuke is like, 10 years younger than everyone else, but the story has to be that way. This story contains mostly brotherly Itasasu, light Nejisasu and some NaruIta. There are other pairings, too. The story is set in modern AU.

Okay, summary's below. Read it, ok?

It's a little bit of a sad story, but hope you like it anyway. Oh, and there are two outside characters, Nathaniel, Ami, Takumi and Judge Shou. Just don't bother about them, ok? They're just there to make the story complete and proper. Don't abandon the story just because of them! They're there to make the situation clear.

Read and enjoy!

_--_

_Come Home, Niisan_

_--_

"_**Is Niisan coming home today?"**_

_**--**_

_Kakashi has heard the question, "Is Niisan coming home today?" without fail each day for two years._

_Why? Because Itachi was given a two-year sentence for helping in the murder of a governor whom everybody despised despite the small part Itachi played in the murder. But Kakashi can't tell Sasuke that, can he? So he makes up a story – a story where Itachi is sick in hospital, and can't come back._

_But when Itachi's sentence is over, the family should find happiness, shouldn't it? Yet, Itachi has to win back the trust of his friends and most of all, he has to learn to live again. _

_--_

--

"_**No, sweetheart. Not today."**_

_--_

_--_

Today

---

"Is Niisan coming home today?" the five-year-old boy asked.

Kakashi folded his newspaper and looked at the small boy. "No, sweetheart. Not today."

"When is he coming back?" the boy asked.

"Soon, Sasuke," Kakashi replied, rising from his chair.

Sasuke wasn't finished. He ran forward on small, thin child legs and grabbed Kakashi's shirt just before the older man could slip into the kitchen.

"You always say "soon"," Sasuke said in a childishly angry voice. "But Niisan _never_ comes home. Where did he go?"

Kakashi's insides churned with guilt. This little boy had been living a lie for the past two years of his life. Lost in a fabrication of lies, trapped inside in the dark. The lie had started small, but as the days progressed, the lie worsened. Kakashi knew it wasn't long before this lie ate him up. But he had no choice. He had to keep the secret from Sasuke. If Sasuke knew, it would make him fall right apart. Kakashi didn't want to see that. He had known this boy since he was just a baby, and he didn't want him to fall into pieces.

"I told you – the hospital," Kakashi replied.

"Why can't I see him?"

"Because he's very sick," Kakashi answered.

"I want to see him. Why can't I?" Sasuke was stubborn, stubborn like the rest of his family. Born with a fiery spirit that could never be daunted, he was the figure of the word, "stubbornness." The boy's obstinate behavior and simple of thinking sometimes annoyed Kakashi, but that made Sasuke for who he was. A stubborn boy, but a loving boy nonetheless.

"Because the doctor's don't allow it," Kakashi said heavily.

"But he's my Niisan!" Sasuke whined. Stubborn. Not spoilt. Just plain stubborn.

"He's going to be fine, Sasuke," Kakashi answered. Another lie. His life itself had become a lie.

"Then why can't I go?" a spirit that could never be daunted, indeed.

"Sweetheart, things don't go the way you want them to," Kakashi answered. "Now, please, sweetheart – let me enjoy my Saturday morning."

Sasuke folded his arms in a childish manner and glared up at Kakashi. "If Niisan is fine, if Niisan is going to be okay, why can't I see him? Niisan isn't going to bite me!"

"The disease is contagious, sweetheart," Kakashi bent down to the boy's level. "He could make you sick."

"Niisan would never hurt me!"

_Sasuke, he's hurt you and me more than you'll ever know. _Kakashi didn't say it aloud, but he just frowned a bit more, and looked at the boy seriously. "Look, Sasuke – I _promise_ you."

"That's what you _always_–"

"Listen to me," Kakashi interrupted. "_Listen_ to me. One day he'll return, okay? It might be today, it might not be tomorrow, it might be the day after – but one day he will. Even if I have to drag him here for you, I will. Alright, Sasuke? Now, please – let me have my Saturday morning."

Sasuke seemed to be content with his explanation, so he plodded his way out of the kitchen and to the backyard to play with himself.

Kakashi watched as the five-year-old left. A little boy trapped in a world of lies made by those who claimed they loved him.

_Itachi, if only you hadn't been so foolish…_

_--_

Nathaniel Frost, defense attorney, glared at his greatest enemy of present times, Hitoshi Takumi. But Nathaniel did not blare his hatred outright; he just paused for a moment, looking at Hitoshi in the eye, before returning his gaze to the judge, and the jury.

"Your Honor, that boy is not even a man yet," Nathaniel went on with his ending speech. "He's only fourteen. He deserves a chance to live his life. He deserves a chance again to make his life worth it. He deserves it, Your Honor. He is young and foolish and rash, and he makes mistakes just like all of us. But he deserves a second chance. Two years of his life have already been wasted away. How many more does this court wish to destroy?"

"It is not a question of emotions, Your Honor," Takumi cut in immediately. "The fact stands bold. That boy participated in the murder of Governor Noda Ryou."

"Governor Noda Ryou was not a just man," Nathaniel cut in at once. "He had been overtaxing the state and his rules were unjust. He practiced nepotism and hypocrisy to our state and to our nation. He deserves punishment."

"But not at the hands of mere citizens," Takumi said. "If they had complaints, they should've lodged it."

"Enough, the both of you," Judge Shibata Shou knocked his hammer. "This is a closing hearing. You do not debate. You speak alone. This is not a debating room – this is court and we are having a closing hearing."

"I understand, Your Honor," Nathaniel bowed.

"As do I," Hitoshi bowed, too.

"Hitoshi-san, you may proceed," Judge Shou said.

Hitoshi Takumi cleared his throat and faced the jury and Judge Shou. "We have come here to pass a sentence today. A sentence to a young teenager of age fifteen, Uchiha Itachi, who has been part of the assassination of State Governor Noda Ryou. True, Noda Ryou had been overtaxing the citizens. True, Noda Ryou had been an unjust man. True, Noda Ryou practiced nepotism and hypocrisy to our nation, to our state, to our citizens. But Noda Ryou's punishment was not for a group of locals to decide.

"The reason, ladies and gentlemen, we have courts is because we wish to justly punish people like Noda Ryou," Takumi went on, looking at each jury firmly in the eye. "The courthouse is not here for decoration, or history and heritage purposes – it's here where citizens of various ages can come to lodge complaints, hold a prosecution, and demand justice. This is the stronghold of justice. This is where Noda Ryou should be punished. He should be punished at the hands of the court, not of the locals.

"Uchiha Itachi, however – did just that. Alongside various people ranging from age fifteen to forty-six, this tyrant group carefully planned an assassination against Governor Noda Ryou. Noda Ryou has been governing this state for ten years. Why, then, has nobody said anything about his unfair treatment? Why, then, has nobody complained against him? Afraid? No, somebody would've snapped. But our topic is not of who complained of Noda Ryou, but of who killed him. Noda Ryou's death was justified. But it was not justified when he died in the hands of a group of rebels who decided they could take matters into their own hands.

"Uchiha Itachi may only be fifteen – and he has a long life ahead, but the moment he decided to join this rebel group, he decided to throw away several years of his life. The moment he participated in the assassination of Noda Ryou, he decided to sacrifice those years. Whether Noda Ryou was truly an evil man or a saint, we may never know. But we do not need to know that.

"We only need to know that Uchiha Itachi killed Noda Ryou. We live in a world of facts, ladies and gentlemen, not a world of hate, anger and the pretence heroism of young teenagers."

The jury was very moved by Takumi's closing. Nathaniel frowned when he saw Judge Shou nodding his head. Nathaniel sighed and he knew – he knew the only way he could cut through the prosecutor's defense.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Nathaniel was always careful to look at each jury in the eye, and face the judge with a solemn, grave look to amplify his seriousness in the case. "As Takumi-san has mentioned, we are here to judge Uchiha Itachi, fifteen and has already caused the death of Governor Noda Ryou.

"Ladies and gentlemen, why did the citizens not complain of Noda Ryou? Simple. They were afraid of him, of his superiority. Noda Ryou has plenty of money to get himself a bail, plenty of money to hire a fantastic lawyer to get him acquitted. Locals are not as stupid as they look. They may not be as high-ranking and high-classed as the rest of us, but they understand politics and they understand the law. They understand what is influence between politicians and governors. They know that they, insignificant citizens, are nothing beside Noda Ryou. For this reason, the citizens had been threatened to not prosecute Noda Ryou. And therefore, ten years later today, we face this problem, a problem every state and every nation fears – rebellion.

"But this is a small rebel group and one of its members is Uchiha Itachi, who did the planning of the entire assassination attempt, which succeeded. To everyone here, do you not have a son or daughter in their teenager years? If you do, you understand that they are at a tough age, and they don't listen to advice and they grow more defiant and self-motivated as they grow. Uchiha Itachi was not a bad teenager. He did not smoke, he was not on drugs, he was a school prefect, he was a genius, he was a top student and all his friends knew him as a person of integrity. Uchiha Itachi participated in the assassination only because of the maturing of his personality, of his internal self.

"He became more self-motivated and self-assured. He knew he had potential, he knew he had the brains and he knew he had to use them. He disliked Noda Ryou heartily. Why? Ladies and gentlemen, Uchiha Itachi's family was sent to execution four years ago by Noda Ryou. He killed all of them, except Itachi and his younger brother. He destroyed Itachi's life. If someone did that to you, ladies and gentlemen, wouldn't you swear revenge?

"That's what Itachi did. He lost himself. Moreover, his house of that time was with his foster father and his brother. His foster father worked very hard, but he had to give much of his salary to pay the taxes. And Itachi disliked that, because he wanted his foster father to live a good life, and he wanted his brother to be like other children, who had toys and books and computer games and what not. Itachi only wanted his brother to have the best. You must understand that this boy was all Itachi had left. He was the last shred of Itachi's sanity, and Itachi's family. He was Itachi's brother.

"But no, Noda Ryou's taxes are overloading and it's overwhelming the family. Itachi gets pressurized. The fate of his brother is all that matters to him now. He wants nothing more than to protect his brother and his foster father against poverty's strike. He doesn't want them on the street, begging for food and money – he wants them to have a roof over their heads, bread on the table and beds to sleep on.

"So he plans the assassination of Noda Ryou. Ladies and gentlemen, we make mistakes in our life. Nobody is perfect. Not you, not me. Uchiha Itachi did make a mistake, but he did out of love, out of the will to protect what was left of his family. Tell me, ladies and gentlemen – is that wrong? True, he went against laws of the court, but he knew the odds of Noda Ryou ever getting arrested. Noda Ryou had money to buy the bail, to get a lawyer to get him acquitted and he had political influence. Itachi didn't want that sort of risk.

"And so he took matters into his own hands, along with the rest of the rebel group. They may have managed to kill Noda Ryou, but ladies and gentlemen, didn't Itachi do this out of the will to protect his sole remaining sibling?"

--

Sasuke looks at a little flower growing in the garden. He knows it's not time for the flowers to bloom yet, but here was one little white flower growing among twines of green. He smiles and his babyish, child-like face shines.

Sasuke looks at the flower. White.

Sasuke knew that his Niisan loved the color white. His Niisan had once told him the many meanings of white.

"_White is the symbol of purity, Sasuke," Itachi smiled and said. "Do you know what purity is?"_

"_No, Niisan. What is it?"_

"_Purity is the color of something that has not been stained, that is not dirty."_

"_Something?"_

"_Humans," Itachi replied, his voice soft and gentle. "Sasuke, you are the color white. You are the symbol of purity."_

Sasuke smiles down at the small flower and grins. "You're me. And I'm you."

--

Kakashi spent his afternoon on the computer. He knew Sasuke was somewhere in the house playing and entertaining himself. It was not that Kakashi was neglecting Sasuke. It was only on Saturdays that he paid Sasuke minimum heed. But on Mondays to Fridays and Sundays, Sasuke was always the top of the list, whether playing or tutoring or cooking.

But Saturday was _his_ day. He works six days a week to support his family, and he deserved a day off. He usually made up the neglect he gave Sasuke for the morning and afternoon by taking them out for dinner.

Kakashi yawned and frowned when he heard the telephone ring. He stood up and walked to it, picking up the receiver.

"Hello? Hatake Kakashi here."

"Hatake-san? I am Frost-san's secretary, Reiko Ami," the female voice on the other end of the line introduced. "Hatake-san, I'm sorry that I'm late to inform you, but Frost-san has decided to plea for Uchiha-san's release today."

Kakashi became wide-awake and alert. "_What!_" Kakashi was seriously pissed. "And he didn't _tell_ me?"

"I was supposed to tell you much earlier," Ami said. "But I received a direct order from one of the judges to deliver something. I could not turn down the request and it took me a long time to find the recipient. When I returned to the office, Frost-san had already gone to court. He wants to plead for Uchiha-san's release. He is currently going at it with Hitoshi Takumi-san."

_Hitoshi Takumi? Why didn't anyone tell me earlier!_ Kakashi thought angrily. "Anyway, is the court hearing ending?"

"Just about," Ami said. "They began one hour ago. They're just doing a closing hearing. The judge and jury will then decide if Uchiha-san can be given an earlier release."

"Do you want me at court now?" Kakashi asked.

"You don't have to come," Ami said. "I'll get Frost-san to call you about the verdict."

_Call me? Call me! Hell, we're talking about my foster son! _"Actually, I don't mind going down," Kakashi said. "But is there some arrangement that can be made to look after Sasuke? I don't wish for him to get lost or get into trouble in the courthouse."

"That most certainly can be arranged," Ami nodded.

"I'll see you later, then."

"Yes. Sorry for the inconvenience. Later soon, Hatake-san."

When Nathaniel finished his closing, he let a huge breath escape him. Judge Shou was looking at him with what Nathaniel thought was approval. Half the jury looked disapproving and the other have looked very approving. The scales tipped even.

"The both of you may leave as of present," Judge Shou said. "And wait as the jury gives its verdict."

Nathaniel closed his eyes. He hated this part the most.

_Now we wait. Itachi, you better start praying._

_--_

Kakashi met Ami at Nathaniel's office. Sasuke had been given to another secretary and they were in a holding room, playing some games. At least that was settled.

"Where's Nathaniel?" Kakashi demanded.

"He's coming now," Ami said.

The courtroom door burst open and Hitoshi Takumi rushed out, heading straight for his office. A split second later, Nathaniel Frost emerged, too.

Kakashi immediately recognized the foreign man with coppery-gold hair streaked black, fair, pale skin and a handsome face. He looked even more handsome dressed in black. Nathaniel walked straight up to him.

"Kakashi, good to see you here," Nathaniel said. "I know Ami had trouble informing you…"

"She did," Kakashi said, cutting him off abruptly. "But what about Itachi? Is the Judge going to release him?"

"We have to wait for the verdict," Nathaniel said. "Please, come to my office. I'll explain there."

They returned to Nathaniel's office. Kakashi could easily recognize this room by now. Shelves and shelves of leather-bound books stood against the walls. There was an icy, cream sofa, a rosewood desk and a twirling chair behind it. Two other chairs were placed on the other side of the table.

"Sit," Nathaniel said, gesturing to the chair. "Do you need anything?"

"Details," Kakashi said curtly.

"Right," Nathaniel sat down on the twirling chair. "The reason I called for this sudden hearing is for you. As you know, Itachi must serve a prison term of five years. If I cut it short by three years, it'll do your family good. It'll do Sasuke good. Besides, if I don't try to minimize the waiting years, they'll forget about Itachi's good points later and they'll get thinking of his bad points instead. The earlier, the better."

"Why did you do it without telling me?" Kakashi demanded. "You must've planned this a long time ago. You can't go to court without a pre-planned script."

"I just thought of it two days ago," Nathaniel said. "And I thought it better not to tell you, because you might spread word and that might cause an uproar. I don't want to upset the citizens yet. And I hope you don't go and phone tons of people now, because the judge hasn't made his verdict, and whatever the result is, it may have different effects on people."

Kakashi understood where Nathaniel was going. In simpler terms, Nathaniel didn't want the entire community worked up just because he'd started another plea. If they were to know of this, they were only to know of the verdict when it came. Nathaniel wanted to save Kakashi and Sasuke from the press.

"How did it go?" Kakashi asked.

"You never know what the jury is thinking," Nathaniel sighed. "Takumi did quite well. He was really using the facts. Let's just hope that the jury is more of the emotional side…"

"What was your point?" Kakashi asked.

Nathaniel threw Kakashi a piece of paper. "I put those points into sentences."

Kakashi read down the paper, and looked at Nathaniel, a little dubiously. "Will it work?"

"We have to see, don't we?" Nathaniel smiled. "By the way, how's Sasuke?"

"He's still asking for Itachi everyday," Kakashi sighed.

"Let it be, then," Nathaniel said. "You never know when these things might get Itachi out."

Kakashi looked out of the window.

--

Sasuke doesn't like this woman. She's loud, and impulsive. Of course Sasuke doesn't know the word 'impulsive' but his emotions towards her was such.

What was her name again?

Who knows and who cares? Sasuke just didn't like her. He wanted his father.

"Where's Daddy?" he demands in his childish, stubborn way. "I want Daddy."

"Oh, darling – he's not here now," the woman said. "Oh, darling – you're such a dear!"

Sasuke is startled. When he speaks in that defiant manner to his father, he would most certainly get himself a scolding. But this mad woman praised him! Sasuke scowls even more. He doesn't like this lady. He wants his father. He wants his brother. He wants his family again. And he doesn't like waiting here alone.

"I want my Daddy!" Sasuke's voice has risen to a shriek. "I want Daddy! I want Daddy! I want Niisan! I want Daddy!"

And he's on the floor, kicking and screaming, in one of his fiercest tantrums. He doesn't even know why he's suddenly so angry. But he is. He shakes his little fists, and kicks his little legs. He's screaming loudly, shrieking and calling for his father and his brother, when he knows perfectly well they're both not here. He screams even louder when the lady tries to pacify him.

"I want Daddy! I want Niisan!"

He screams and screams and screams till his little throat hurts, but he doesn't stop. He doesn't stop when the lady offers him candy and chocolate and anything he wants, he doesn't stop when the lady runs to get two other people – man and a woman – he doesn't stop when they try to coo him to quiet.

He doesn't stop because he knows they can't give him what he wants.

--

--

--

How was that! How was that! Was it good? Was it too cheesy? Was it ridiculous? I need your comments and please review for me! Reviews are nice!

Oh, and I want to make clear that Sasuke isn't aware that Kakashi is not his real father, but Itachi is aware of that little detail.

Please R & R!


End file.
